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Yesterday did some maintenance on an intermediate school Yamaha P22 (reshape hammers, vacuum interior, keys/keybed, polish/lube capstans and front/balance rail pins, remove lost motion, etc.). After that, back to the college to finish up: Baldwin Hamilton Wurlitzer console, old Steinway upright (1909), and an old Sargent grand.

I did a careful Tunelab overpull to raise a Steinway D from 440 to 442. I started on the bass, and pulled up the unisons up as I went. It took about 45 minutes. The result was so accurate, my subsequent aural concert tuning was a breeze. Nice job Tunelab!

Yesterday I was feeling awful, but had to drag myself to tune for the show. Today I was much better. I had invited a couple of pianists to my club for the big band dinner dance, and we had a good time. There was a special presentation for one of the members who had fought in WW2. Previously, members of the club had gotten him a replacement Purple Heart for the one that he had left on the grave of one of his buddies. Tonight he was inducted as a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the French Console General of San Francisco. One of my guests was greatly moved, as her brother had died in the war.

One of the interesting things about the award recipient is that he was drafted, and went into the 82nd Airborne with his buddies, even though he would not have been eligible, because they had a minimum height limit of 5' 6", and he is 5' 2". In order to get through the obstacle course, his buddies would throw him over the barriers. The commander saw that, and made sure that he stayed with them. He received two Bronze Stars for bravery. A little man with a big heart!

All of this was arranged by members of the club. That is why I am a member. It is a shame that so many social clubs are dying these days. There is much to be gained from belonging to one. Not to mention that we have dinner dances regularly, so we employ musicians!

Hi, I'm a new poster... but an old tuner. One recent post asked if you have ever had a police escort.... nope, but once in my early days of tuning, back in '74-'75, tuned for a lady who asked me to tune while she was at work and the house was empty. Neighbor saw me go in unlocked back door with a tool box. Well into temperament, the cops kicked in the front door and held me at gunpoint insisting I was robbing the joint... while sitting at piano tuning?? New MO, I guess. finally got them to call lady, she staightened it out, and they were going to leave without telling her about the door they had kicked in. Almost quit tuning that day, and definitely needed a change of clothes. Love this thread, keep it going, will join in as well.

I tuned a Steinway D for an all-Chopin recital by Janne Mertanen., using a slightly tweaked EBVT III.

He absolutely loved it! And so did I - the different keys really came to life in a most convincing way. Most of them where remote, too (The pieces where in B minor, Eb major, B major, C# minor, Db major and F# major.)

It's not so much what I'm going to do TODAY, as what I'm going to do TONIGHT after dinner. I'm going to eat the big slice of peanut butter pie given to me by my first tuning customer this morning. Right now I'm home for lunch, and that pie will be my incentive while tuning at a school after school this afternoon - 1. Lester studio (knee board missing, one front leg missing, sits next to a hot air blower, sounds like the soundtrack to a horror movie). 2. Baldwin Hamilton (very stable instrument...while all the others in this school go completely haywire). 3. Winter spinet (in a band room practice room, recently donated...I'm told it's extremely flat...maybe never been tuned...not sure why the school took it)

Tuned 5 pianos in a church this morning. Arrived at 9 AM, done by noon. Lunch time. Drove to my college after that and did a concert tuning after which, I had to dismantle a pedal lyre on one of the Steinway D's to figure out where a squeaking noise was coming from along with other erroneous noises. After 2 hours of fooling around with it, completely removing the pedals etc., replacing rubber grommets and a bushing, tightening screws, aligning pedals and much more, I put it back together to again and what do you know, it worked!

First a 135 cent pitch raise on a Kimball console. After that, a Yamaha P22 at a school, followed by a church Baldwin Hamilton, another church Baldwin L, and finally another Hamilton at still another church! Holy piano technician, Batman!

Tuned 5 pianos in a church this morning. Arrived at 9 AM, done by noon. Lunch time. Drove to my college after that and did a concert tuning after which, I had to dismantle a pedal lyre on one of the Steinway D's to figure out where a squeaking noise was coming from along with other erroneous noises. After 2 hours of fooling around with it, completely removing the pedals etc., replacing rubber grommets and a bushing, tightening screws, aligning pedals and much more, I put it back together to again and what do you know, it worked!

Every time I read your "day stories" I have to think of these old slapstick movies from the 30ies which they now usually replay at current frame rates so everything moves really fast.

Headed to the college and tuned 4, a M&H Bb grand for student recitals this weekend, a M&H upright, an new Yamaha upright, and an Everett upright. Got there about 9:30, and was done by 1. Had my daughter and a new apprentice with me, so spent some time teaching as well as tuning. The M&H grand is in serious need of a rebuild, pinblock is awful and we have patched and doped and changed pins, but the end is near. BUT, of course the money holders for the college have yet to be convinced of the need. They have been gracious enough in the last year and a half to cut a check for 3 new Yamahas (uprights) for the classrooms, so maybe we can talk turkey (sorry, tis the season) and get them to allow a rebuild. The M&H upright is a pill to tune at first, because the treble end is harder to get into balance until you know the tricks. SOOOO, I put my daughter on that (she hates it, but needs the experience) and she did quite well. She is a good little tuner and her pianos sound so sweet when she is done. She is slow yet, but that comes in time. She envies my 45 min average tuning, but I remember when I was where she is and can so sympathize. The new apprentice, Jim, is a neat guy, and has STUDIED this stuff like no one I have met before. I am impressed. He will make a very fine tuner when his skills match his studying, and that won't be too far away. Took them all out for lunch afterwards. Gotta love apprentices!!

Five tunings in three hours? Wow...36 minutes/tuning. I can go pretty fast, but I couldn't do an accurate tuning in 36 minutes. Way to go!

Thanks! Practice makes perfect. Of course, it certainly helped that all but 1 of the pianos were tuned exactly 1 year ago....

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Every time I read your "day stories" I have to think of these old slapstick movies from the 30ies which they now usually replay at current frame rates so everything moves really fast.

Thanks for that too. I take it as a compliment of course!

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shovelled snow…yes you read that right.. snow in Vancouver this morning…… 5-6 inches…. This is not the way it is supposed to go….all the snow should be at Jerry’s place……

No Dan no! No snow here at all. Up in the 50's today again. You can keep it all. I don't want any.

Gee, today, I received one of those annoying calls from a client. This church is on a prearranged schedule of tuning the auditorium Yamaha in September, the 2nd week of December and once again before Easter. For obvious reasons to us, as technicians anyway, we tune it for the beginning of the church season in September. We all know that with weather and humidity changes, pianos change in both tuning and in pitch. Thus, the reason why we are tuning it again in December.

Well, this particular person is a "musician" and thinks because I tuned it on September 23, 2 months ago when the relative humidity in the church read 55-60% that today, when the humidity is reading in the upper 28% range, the piano should still be in tune. And, they insist, the BASS is out of tune with the rest of the piano. Never mind the fact that they are playing the bass using chords...... And, never mind the fact that I tried to explain it was actually the tenor section that had dropped in pitch, not the bass... And, never mind the fact that they hung up on me...

I was trying to explain that, yes, as this person had requested, (they are not the person in charge of setting up tunings, nor are they allowed to do so. They happen to be playing for a funeral which is on Tuesday) I could tune the piano today but, I do not recommend we do so. The weather is not stable yet which is why we wait until December to do the next tuning. I repeated that I do not recommend we tune the piano at this time. Look at what the weather here in Michigan has been doing since August? Hot, cold, hot, cold, warm, warm, freezing, warm... "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait then!" Click.

Boy, some people sure are inconsiderate. I should have offered to tune it and then said, oh, you are are going to be writing me a check today, are you not? And, you are willing to pay me a 50% increase for having me come out for an "emergency tuning-after hours on a Saturday" are you not? That would have really blown her socks off.

Speed is something I'm used too after doing it for over 36 years Loren. It does take its toll though. I have so many pianos to get tuned that it's either I had to learn how to tune faster accomplishing the same thing in less time or, do less work. I chose to do more work thus, also making more money.

I mentioned before that I am trying to slow it down to 3 a day now that I am 54 and I am trying but, that sure is hard to do when I have so many pianos needing tuning before the holidays.

I do have some days where I am tuning 3 or 4 and a couple when I am only doing two. I guess it evens itself out. Most of the time, I wind up having to cram something else in there too like I did Friday, 5 tunings, a concert tuning and then 2 hours fooling around with a Steinway D pedal lyre tearing it apart, fixing it and putting it back together again. That makes for a very long day sometimes.

I really do prefer not to tune pianos that quickly though, believe it or not. It's just hard not to continue tuning fast after doing it for so long if that makes any sense? I try to slow myself down but, it isn't easy.

Today was the last of a series of educational family matinees. It was kind of tough tuning, as the piano was sharp, and a string broke. Since it was focussed on the piano, I consented to talk a little about it to the audience. Then off for lunch with my computer group, which I have been meeting with for many, many years.

I am working on the Baldwin instruction sheet, for those of you who asked.

Speed is something I'm used too after doing it for over 36 years Loren. It does take its toll though. I have so many pianos to get tuned that it's either I had to learn how to tune faster accomplishing the same thing in less time or, do less work. I chose to do more work thus, also making more money.

I mentioned before that I am trying to slow it down to 3 a day now that I am 54 and I am trying but, that sure is hard to do when I have so many pianos needing tuning before the holidays.

I do have some days where I am tuning 3 or 4 and a couple when I am only doing two. I guess it evens itself out. Most of the time, I wind up having to cram something else in there too like I did Friday, 5 tunings, a concert tuning and then 2 hours fooling around with a Steinway D pedal lyre tearing it apart, fixing it and putting it back together again. That makes for a very long day sometimes.

I really do prefer not to tune pianos that quickly though, believe it or not. It's just hard not to continue tuning fast after doing it for so long if that makes any sense? I try to slow myself down but, it isn't easy.

We're about the same age (I'm 51), but you've got ten tuning years on me. I went full time in '84, so I'm at it 26 years now. I hear you about the fatigue. I will say, the CyberHammer REALLY helped out in that regard. I can spend a week doing 30 college tunings now without these 51 year old shoulder muscles complaining!

I hear you about the need for speed, though. My customer database is 2600 + accounts now, so for the most part, there are few tunings where I can really just sit, relax, and tune the way I would prefer; more often than not I'm fighting the clock and there's a need to get it done quicker than I would like. Like I said, I can get it done confidently in 45 minutes if I have to; I just relish the moments when I don't have to.

I do understand what you mean though about work habits. We develop them and then they become ingrained. On reflecting, I too see how more often than not, I'm used to working faster than I actually have to out of habit.

What I'm grateful for is having this amount of work in today's economy. Truly a blessing, and I'm sure you feel the same way!

Good for you though, 36 years in the trade and still going strong. That speaks volumes for your character, integrity, and skill; and I mean that sincerely!

I agree, that tuning fast is not what I prefer, but all too often I have to pump a tuning out fast because I have to work around a college class schedule. They have 50 minute classes and I have a window to get in and out. I have been tuning since 1970, I am now 59 and my speed has really come into play in the last 15 years or so. I get calls to go to piano sales where they have 100 pianos to tune for a sale, and I can manage 8 or 10 a day if I work at it. HOWEVER, when I am on a concert piano for a quality tuning, it behooves me to slow down and check and recheck. Speed is good in some situations, and I find that I can do a good tuning in 40 minutes or less, but that is NOT what I want to be doing. I like to talk to customers and be polite as I feel I am a guest in their house, so I take time then. But the college or store sale tunings, fasten your seatbelt and hang on, we're here to get 'em done.Had to go fix a Janssen spinet sustain pedal. The threaded rod was almost stripped, piano gets a LOT of hard use. So I had to get parts and go back a few weeks later because of customer's time schedule. She called and said the temporary fix had failed (knew it would) and when I went back with new screws and nuts, discovered instead that it was a broken trap spring, and the temp fix had held!!. Well, robbed a spring from middle pedal and ordered 3 new ones... will replace all at once. Oh well, at least I know it will be fixed for sure this time... new screws, new springs.

BDB, you should post that picture in here about the string loop you showed me for some of those that are fairly new in here and haven't seen it yet. Explain in some detail just exactly how that works because I find it fascinating myself (call me slow if you like) but I could not quite picture the thing actually at work when I saw it.

Loren & Robert, (and all)

Yes, talking with clients for me, is half of the fun. I love making them laugh, just as I enjoy placing silly pictures in that O.T topic in here just to make some of you people smile.

I have a carbon fiber tuning hammer. Light and easy to use. I also have arthritis in my right shoulder from many years of tuning. I have it in my back, neck and knee's as well.

Hey, can I count count in my years of tuning, the fact that my dad got me started tuning pipe organs, holding keys for him during the summer months when I was 10 years old and that he got me started tuning pianos after school and during the summer when I was 12? That'll make me look ever better yet!

Agreed, slowing down for a concert tuning is desired however, unfortunately, we have so many times where we are cramped for time there as well like say, during intermission. Or for an emergency "touch up" tuning that turns out to be pretty much a full tuning that needs to be done in 30 minutes before the concert begins and the hall fills with people. I can't count the amount of times I've been called for an emergency tuning and then told people are waiting in the wings to come in...are you about finished yet (?) after I have only been tuning for 20 minutes.

One time, they said they were lined up outside and half way around the building and up the steps into the 2nd floor waiting for me to finish and this was winter time. That evening, I cleared the auditorium of security and some VERY NOISY people so I could finish it sooner and I did, in 30 minutes so they could let people in. Nobody complained about the tuning. I knew it wasn't perfect, it couldn't be. It was to badly out for that to happen and a concert tuning? Well, let's say, I worked hardest on pure unison's which is one of the most important steps in tuning besides setting the pins.

I raised my rates this past year by $20 to eliminate certain brands and so that I could possibly work smarter, not harder. I have had no complaints at all but for the price shoppers who are never happy regardless of what we were to charge. There is always someone out there willing to do it for less. 90% of the time, their quality also suffers. They can have it.

Yes, you are right, those of us that are busy as a beaver are truly blessed alright. It is our integrity, honesty, timeliness, ethics and quality that keep us going strong over much of the competition I spoke of in my last paragraph. Even though they may charge 50% less of what I charge, they are still only booked a day if they are lucky.

Tomorrow, will be one of those days for me again. I have a 9 AM tuning, a Petrof grand in a home. I have to drop my son off to a church to tune a lovely Kimblah 6' something grand that likes to break bass wires. While he does that, I have to go and tune a new client, in another home. She has a Bosendorfer 7'4" I think she said. She was referred to me by 2 people out there. They live a good 40 minutes from my house. From there, I have to go back to the church, check out the piano my son tuned, fix the notes that are "almost right but not quite" and then out for a fast lunch. Then, I have another home piano a Wurlitzer spinet, to tune after which, at 4 PM, I have two Kawai grand's an RX- 3 and a RX -6 if I remember right. It will be a long day however, I am also charging $20 more per tuning than my regular fee to cover the long distance I will have to travel tomorrow.

Without my son tuning at least two of these pianos tomorrow saving me probably an hour or two (I hope), I would not be able to complete that particular day. I'd be in total pain and misery by day's end from the stress of being on time, getting it done, doing a good job, the concentration and final end result. I am not really looking forward to it to be honest with you.....